Posted by 17.4 miles
A rest day yesterday was what I absolutely needed. I felt refreshed today and it was great to be back on trail. I can’t thank POD and Disco enough. They really looked after me. Hanging with hikers they knew exactly what I needed and understood the ups and downs of trail life.
POD had me back at the Monarch Pass trail head by 10am and I was really to hit it. I wasn’t aiming big today, only around 16 miles to Hancock Lake, with some steep climbs, the steepest right at the end of the day.
The CDT/CT was packed with people today, mainly packs of trail runners and many CT hikers. My next stop is Leadville which may explain the masses of runners. Leadville hosts some of the most insane ultra races during the year. I’ll have to check the calendar to see if anything is coming up.
From Monarch Pass the trail led through the local ski fields. Lots of locals just out for a Saturday walk with their dogs wanted to stop and chat. Everyone I’ve met have been a joy to talk with. All encouraging and intrigued by thru hikers. I guess it’s a way of living vicariously.
Climbing that last steepest pass for the day the winds were ferocious, knocking me sideways. I had read comments that there was ‘good’ camping at Hancock Lake however rising over the pass and looking down on the lake I could see no tree cover and white caps on the water. We rely heavily on comments from previous hikers on the FarOut App to plan ahead but I’m beginning to be a bit skeptical on some people’s idea of what good camping is. The while lake shore was completely exposed to the winds and there was no chance I was pitching a tent. My relatively short day just got slightly extended.
I continued on for another mile following a road with tree cover and found a suitable site for my tent. By the large fire ring and tyre marks the site was obviously used frequently.
Moose started to graze and move past my tent only 20m away. I was amazing to watch these large animals doing their thing.
Mick Beckers 